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Anyone who suspects that he or she might be infected with HIV
should contact a health worker or an HIV/AIDS centre to receive
confidential counselling and testing. 
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HIV tests may be available at hospitals, family planning or STI clinics,
community health centers, drug treatment facilities or doctor's offices.
Contact your local health department for testing centers in your area.
 Privacy
and Testing
It is important for anyone having an HIV test to understand the confidentiality
policies of the testing center. Testing centers generally offer two
types of test procedures: confidential and anonymous.
· Confidential HIV Testing centers record the person's name along
with the results of his/her HIV test. The only people with access
to your test results are medical personnel and in some states, the
state health department. However your status may become known if you
sign a release form to have your personal physician notified.
· Anonymous HIV Testing means that no name is ever given to the testing
center and only the person who is having the test is aware of the
results.
Available
Tests (may not be available everywhere)
Antibody Blood Tests
· Antibody blood tests are used to detect HIV antibodies in the
bloodstream. The most common screening tests used today are EIA (enzyme
immunoassay) and the ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay). A
second test, referred to as the Western Blot test, is run to confirm
positive results.
· When the EIA or ELISA is used in conjunction with the Western Blot
confirmation test, the results are more than 99.9% accurate.
· Results from EIA/ELISA HIV tests are usually available several
days to several weeks later.
Home Testing Kits
· Home Testing Kits, also referred to as Home Blood Collection Systems,
contain HIV/AIDS literature and materials that permit you to take
your own blood sample, which you then mail to a testing facility where
your HIV status will be determined.
· Results are accessed by an anonymous identification number and
are given over the telephone several days later (USA)
· Home Testing Kits are sold in drugstores and health clinics throughout
the country (USA) and are available by mail (contact 1-800-458-5231
English/Spanish) 3. Oral Testing Kits · Oral HIV antibody EIA and
oral HIV antibody Western Blot tests are alternatives to blood tests.
Oral testing is done with samples of mucus from inside the cheeks
and gums rather than with blood.
· Oral tests have been approved by the FDA and are as accurate as
blood tests.
· This test is done to detect the presence of HIV antibodies, not
the virus itself. No cases of HIV transmission have been attributed
to saliva. HIV Test Results HIV tests can identify HIV antibodies
in the blood as early as two weeks after infection, but the body may
take up to six months to make a measurable amount of antibodies. The
average time is 25 days.
· A seropositive result on an HIV test means that HIV antibodies
are present in your bloodstream and you are HIV positive. The onset
of AIDS may take up to 10 or more years. Drug treatments are available
that can further delay the developments of AIDS.
· A seronegative result usually indicates that you are not infected
with HIV. However, you should retest in six months if you engaged
in high-risk behavior during the past six months because it can take
this long for your immune system to produce enough antibodies.
Oral Testing Kits
· Oral HIV antibody EIA and oral HIV antibody Western Blot tests
are alternatives to blood tests. Oral testing is done with samples
of mucus from inside the cheeks and gums rather than with blood.
· Oral tests have been approved by the FDA and are as accurate as
blood tests.
· This test is done to detect the presence of HIV antibodies, not
the virus itself. No cases of HIV transmission have been attributed
to saliva.
HIV
Test Results
HIV tests can identify HIV antibodies in the blood as early as two
weeks after infection, but the body may take up to six months to make
a measurable amount of antibodies. The average time is 25 days.
· A seropositive result on an HIV test means that HIV antibodies
are present in your bloodstream and you are HIV positive. The onset
of AIDS may take up to 10 or more years. Drug treatments are available
that can further delay the developments of AIDS.
· A seronegative result usually indicates that you are not infected
with HIV. However, you should retest in six months if you engaged
in high-risk behavior during the past six months because it can take
this long for your immune system to produce enough antibodies.
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